Ibrahim an idiot or agent?

Perkasa or Ibrahim Ali, a so-called NGO, sponsored by Umno, on the pretence of fighting for 'Malay rights' has now step up its move to thwart Bersih's rally which is totally irrelevant to their (Perkasa 'cause') which was doubted by most right thinking Malaysians.

Bersih's rally is just about justice, free and fair elections for Malaysia...what this got to do with Perkasa...unless Perkasa is an agent of Umno.

Obviously, we see that the setting up of Perkasa was just a tool by Umno to create racial and religious uneasiness so as to make the Malays phobic of their rights being trampled (rubbish), their political supremacy diluted (rubbish) and non-Muslims' threat to Islam (also rubbish).

Well, all these are churned out for few things...a poltical purpose, power and survival.

Fight and we must fight to win

By Captain Joseph Wilfred

As promised last Sunday, I have returned to consult The Sifu on which opposition party in Sabah to support in the coming 13th General Election and the following transpired.

2. On 16th September 2010, while ATAMA was performing for Malaysia Day at Padang Merdeka Kota Kinabalu, I attended a dinner reception hosted by PAKATAN RAKYAT at Putera Ballroom Bukit Padang together with The Sifu.

3. He was seated firmly in his chair from the beginning but mysteriously vanished when a SupreMoo, a Semenanjung MP, a Sabah MP, and a Sabah Assemblyman took over the microphone – in the process, abandoning even the food on the table which I personally know is one thing The Sifu will never do.

4. Today more than 9 months later, The Sifu told me why: He said,

5. “I am an objective person. For more than half a century as a human being, I tell you Captain, I can definitely recognize an idiot when I see and listen to one. I won’t sit around and hear crap.

6. You were there yourself on countless occasions when I told off people who had done wrong but in a very nice manner and these people (the brilliant ones, of course), despite feeling embarrassed, always put aside their shame and approached me for advice.

7. On the contrary, this SupreMoo (someone called him an old cow lately) portrays himself as a ‘I can do no wrong and you can do no right’ kind of politician. When I heard him speak (actually, he shouted all the way, to be precise), I find a person devoid of intellectual substance and etiquette. He doesn’t realize that his speeches are so hateful to hear so much so a convicted petty thief would rather choose amputation than to be put in a counseling room with this SupreMoo.

8. The Semenanjung MP, I heard, read Law from don’t know what university (I really don’t know). But that night on 16th September 2010, she portrayed herself as a “cheapskate Mandarin opera singer” who ignored the fact that 80% of the audience that night can only understand either English or Bahasa. To me, she is both a humiliation and an embarrassment.

9. As for the Sabah MP, I heard the people of Foh Sang Township ‘whispering’ that he thinks he is going to be the next Chief Minister of Sabah. For 3 times I have heard him spoke and I can have only one question to ask: ‘does this person really possesses a bona fide doctorate at all’?

10. You want to know what I think of the Sabah Assemblyman? This is one fellow who in spite of not having the ability to give a coherent and understandable description of anything at all in any language that he may try his tongue at (in short, everything he said that night was outright horrendous), has the audacity to parade his DUBIOUS NATIVE CERTIFICATE to all and sundry when everyone knows that his ancestors are 100% PURE CHINESE.

11. Oh…before I forget, do you still recall 25th July 2010 when a former PKR Leader launched his Pakatan Friends FaceBook Page in Yaho Hotel Sembulan? Remember the representative from Sepanggar who went up to the rostrum? His speech was a complete disaster and the audience, instead of laughing with him, was actually laughing at him. And the truth is, Captain, almost 90% of leaders and members from this Semenanjung Party are of this kind of quality.

12. By the way, Captain, it is wrong for you to address a veterinarian (meaning doktor binatang) as a doctor. You can only call him Vet So-And-So not Dr So-And-So. Under international standards, only genuine doctorate holders and medical practitioners treating human beings are entitled to be addressed as doctors.”

13. What about SAPP then, Sifu? Do you think the people of Sabah should support and vote for SAPP? What is your view? And His response was,

14. “If the opposition front in Sabah is only between PAKATAN RAKYAT (meaning PKR, DAP, PAS) and SAPP, then like what ATAMA had already suggested to SAPP Supreme Councilor Peter Marajin sometime in March this year, let PAKATAN RAKYAT take all the Parliamentary Seats while SAPP all the State Seats. All my reasons are already made known confidentially to SC Marajin by ATAMA.

15. Do not create multi-cornered fights and split the votes because only UMNO/BN will win. Whilst the local opposition party (meaning SAPP) support PAKATAN RAKYAT’s move to take over Putrajaya, PAKATAN RAKYAT must reciprocate and respect Sabah’s autonomy in every way.”

16. What if PAKATAN RAKYAT and SAPP refuse to come to a consensus? What then? The Sifu laughed,

17. “Of late, it has become obvious that PAKATAN RAKYAT (meaning PKR and particularly DAP) is bullying SAPP into a tight corner. You cannot really blame DAP members when they accuse SAPP of having a questionable leadership.

18. Interestingly, this Semenanjung Party also have corrupted leaders not to mention those with bogus doctorate, dubious native certificate, fake knighthood purportedly awarded by Queen Elizabeth II, and many others including a supreme loose cannon that fires blank rounds (check out youtube for parliament videos and you will know why UMNO MPs always ridicule and tell him to shut up).

19. Similarly, Captain, do you remember a sitting State Cabinet Minister from PBS who also claimed that his Datukship is equivalent to a British Knighthood not too long ago?

20. Now back to your question: If a black and white consensus cannot be reached, then PAKATAN RAKYAT and SAPP should jointly contest every Parliamentary plus State Seats against each other and lose all their deposits. This is one outcome that does not require a crystal ball to predict.” If they cannot agree and compromise, they should fight it out – fair and square and lose. There is no other way around the impasse.

21. If such a scenario happens, what is your advice to the people of Sabah? The Sifu (now serious),

22. “This is my message to all Sabahan brothers and sisters – vote for UMNO/BN if you are stupid; vote for PAKATAN RAKYAT if you are just as stupid; if you are not stupid, Vote only for SAPP but subject to the following terms and conditions:-

1. Do not vote for a candidate if he or she has any social, political, economical, family, or criminal baggage because such person’s integrity and credibility can be bought

2. Do not vote for any past or present incumbents because I have yet to see anything tangible that is worthy of praise being done by them, at least not by my standards

3. Do not vote for a candidate who has a speech and language problem because such person is usually stupid

4. Do not vote for a candidate who thinks he or she knows everything and yet only parrot what was heard

5. Vote for a candidate who is energetic and highly educated (preferably, but not limited or confined to, in English and with a degree in Economics) because only such candidates are able and willing to walk the extra mile for their constituents

23. If you could not find any or all of the above qualities in a SAPP candidate but on the other hand a PAKATAN RAKYAT candidate possesses those details, then, by all means, vote for the PAKATAN RAKYAT candidate instead.

24. If neither SAPP nor PAKATAN RAKYAT candidates have those qualities, I will stay home and not even bother to fly 17 hours back here to cast my vote.

 (JW: Note to SAPP, in paragraph 22, The Sifu has insinuated to you what you should be contesting.)

25. Before I finish, I have to give due credit to Hiew King Chieu for highlighting the harassment on ATAMA in the mainstream media. This shows that Hiew King Chieu is a caring person. No human being is perfect but shortfalls can be rectified. Perhaps there is room for possible improvements, probably?

26. For helping ATAMA in my absence, I say a big THANK YOU.”

27. You people want to know what The Sifu said about Sabahans who are members of PAKATAN RAKYAT (particularly PKR and DAP) taking pot shots at SAPP, this is the analogy He gave:

28. “Throughout the real history of the Malacca Sultanate, Malay warriors are losers – they fought the Siamese and ended up paying ‘bunga emas’ every year as ‘ufti’ until ‘Hang Tuah’ and his friends came into the picture.

29. Who is ‘Hang Tuah’? He and the others are the personal bodyguards of a minor Chinese princess ‘Hang Li Po’ who came and married the Malacca sultan.

30. It is common in China those days that servants adopt the surnames of their masters and even courtiers who served the Imperial Court well were bestowed with the surname of the Emperor.

31. The entire ‘Hang Li Po’ clan was Chinese Muslims like Admiral Cheng Ho. To those of you Malay Muslims who do not know, Islam was practiced in India and China at least 600 years before any of your ancestors did.

32. Back to ‘Hang Tuah’, Malacca’s fortune changed instantly because of superior Chinese ‘kung fu’ and war strategy. After his death, every battle the Malay warriors fought was, again, lost e.g. against the Portuguese, English, Japanese, Communist, Indonesian Confrontation, and etc.

 33. ‘Hang Tuah’ was epitomized as a Malay hero in history books until it was finally revealed by American scientists that the DNA from his remains was proven to be 100% Chinese.

34. All of a sudden, the name ‘Hang Tuah’ was stricken from all history books and you do know why, isn’t it? It is embarrassing to idolize a Chinese as a Malay Hero and worst, there was no other name that is as famous.

35. Remember his famous quote, ‘Takkan Melayu Hilang Di Dunia’? Malays in his era loved him very much for his loyalty even though history told us that the then Malacca sultan was a fickle minded asshole that did not deserved it.

36. He was so powerful yet so gentle; so Chinese yet so Malay. It took a Chinese warrior from China called ‘Hang Tuah’ who not only blended into local society, fought with them and for them, he even assured the local Malays that their race will not be wiped out from the face of this world…! By comparison, ‘Hang Tuah’ a Chinese is even more Malay than the Malays!

 37. Coming back to Sabahan pretenders of Semenanjung Parties who insult and degrade the local opposition party who stood up against an Evil Monster, have you no shame when you mark them with infamy just because they are Sabah based and you are from a Semenanjung Party? Have you forgotten that you yourself also have Sabah blood flowing inside you? You are telling Sabahans that your half past six leaders are better to lord over Sabah?

37. If your leaders are so invincible like you say they are, why don’t they become like ‘Hang Tuah’s of modern Malaysia instead of arrogant assholes…?

38. I only have one label for these Sabahan pretenders and that is they are traitors to Sabah of the highest order…!

With that The Sifu ended all political talk and jump started into dessert mode. It was unfortunate that I could not ask The Sifu one more thing before he whacked his Ais Kacang; did any one of you reading this, notice that The Sifu did not mention anything negative about PAS? Maybe next time...

 p.s.1. If you read between the lines, you will realize that a lot of unnamed ambitious politicians were literally ‘slaughtered’ by The Sifu whose motto is to spare no one that is incompetent. And to those of you who know that you are targeted, The Sifu has time and again reminded the two of us to tell you to your face if and when we have the opportunity one day “that there is absolutely no dignity at all for you to continue asking the ‘RAKYAT’ to keep voting for you when you are already a laughing stock as a result of your being thoroughly dishonest and your character utterly despicable.

p.s.2. We will try to produce a translated version of this conversation for the benefit of ‘BAHASA’-speaking readers but that will have to wait for a while.

p.s.3. Like what you are reading? Anyone of you guys and gals who want more from The Sifu will have to ‘bodek’ me and ATAMA ;-)

Protecting the Rich and Powerful

This morning, I read on Salon's website an article titled "The Rich Aren't Like You and Me," by Michael Winship. Winship describes how the rich are getting richer and richer and the poor, poorer and poorer. CEO pay and compensation continues to grow while workers' salaries stagnate. Of 438 companies analyzed:

[a]t 158 of the companies, more was paid to those in charge than was shelled out for outside audit fees. And 32 of them paid more in top salaries than they paid in corporate income taxes. The pay of 2591 executives was up 13.9 percent in 2010. Total, before taxes: $14.3 billion, almost equal to the GDP of Tajikistan, population: more than seven million.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (See also, here) was passed in 2010, in response to the financial crisis, but interested parties have been chipping away at its regulatory power. One of the requirements of the Dodd-Frank would have made transparent the difference between CEO compensation and worker compensation of publicly traded companies: "The Dodd-Frank Act requires publicly traded companies to disclose the median annual total compensation of all employees of the company, the annual total compensation of the CEO, and the ratio comparing those two numbers."

Some folks, however, think that gathering this information is just "too burdensome" for companies and that the money spent gathering that information would best be spent on hiring workers. (Really, how difficult would it be for a company to publish that information in its annual report?) So Rep. Nan Hayworth (R-NY) has sponsored a bill--which has passed in the Committee on Financial Services--to do away with this "burdensome" requirement. Companies, of course, have a vested interest in not making this kind of information easily available to the public--and their own workers. Nan Hayworth also has a vested interest. As Michael Winship points out, Nan Hayworth's official biography

cites 'reducing regulatory burdens on businesses' as one of her top priorities. Among her leading 2010 campaign contributors: leveraged buyout specialists Vestar Capital Partners, distressed debt investors Elliott Management and financial services giant Credit Suisse. Not to mention the anti-taxation Club for Growth.

Businesses, of course, are making profits once again in our stressed economy; workers, however, are not seeing their pay rise accordingly.

So I was curious to see who co-sponsored this bill to lift such a "burdensome" requirement, as outlined in H.R. 1062: Burdensome Data Collection Relief Act. Here are the names: Judy Biggert (R-IL), Francisco Canseco (R-TX), Bob Dold (R-IL), Scott Garrett (R-NJ), Michael Grimm (R-NY), Peter King (R-NY), Bill Posey (R-FL).

As Peter Whoriskey reports in his article in the Washington Post, "Business Group: Public Companies Shouldn't have to Compare CEO and Worker Pay":

The committee vote was largely along partisan lines: Twenty-nine Republicans and four Democrats supported repeal; 21 Democrats opposed it.

As income disparity grows in this country, it's interesting to see just who forms alliances to hide that disparity and to protect the rich.

And so it goes.

Additional information:
members of the Committee on Financial Services

Register opposition or support: popvox

Giving Credit Where Credit is Due

The Awl has an interesting post on how Michele Bachman's supporters will use negative criticism to inflame her base--those nasty lefty bloggers, you know--much as Sarah Palin has used negative criticism to make the case that her critics are mean and unfair. But what really caught my attention was the discussion of how local Minnesotans who have been following Bachman's career and catching her out on lies and craziness don't get the credit for their work. Instead, big-name writers such as Matt Taibbi, of Rolling Stone, grab information from those local sites and often don't credit the source. Shame on Rolling Stone! A second criticism of writers of large media publications  is the tendency to condescend to folks who live in those towns from which Bachman and Palin hail: Stillwater, Minnesota; Wasilla, Alaska. It's easy to jet into a place, sniff out some local color, and draw quick conclusions that don't stand up in the light of real analysis--or conclusions that, while not untrue, are simplistic. This is another reason folks hate the media.

Anyway, giving credit where credit is due:  Karl Bremer of Stillwater, Minnesota, has been following Michele Bachman's career from a front-row seat. So check out his blog: Ripple in Stillwater. Also, check out these other sources that did not receive credit for information used by Matt Taibbi in writing for Rolling Stone: Minneapolis City Pages and The Dump Bachman Blog.

Ku Li: Sultan cannot remove MB

The Umno veteran argues that the Perak Sultan had no power to remove Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as menteri besar.

TAIPING: Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah said that Perak Sultan, Azlan Shah, did not have the power to remove former Pakatan menteri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin from his post in February 2009.

“The sultan can only appoint the menteri besar but does not have the power to remove him from his post which can be only done if he resigns on his own accord or is removed by a vote of no-confidence in a formal sitting of the (State Legislative) Assembly,” he said.

Razaleigh, who is fondly known as Ku Li, added: “I have even spoken to the Perak Raja Muda about this matter.”

However, the Gua Musang MP did not elaborate on what was discussed.

Razaleigh said there must be separation of powers between the royalty, executive, legislative and the judiciary for the democratic process to be effective.

Before the controversial take-over of the state government by Barisan Nasional, Nizar had sought the Perak ruler’s consent to dissolve the state assembly to hold fresh polls but this was denied.

The sultan instead gave his consent to BN to form the new state government with Zambry Abdul Kadir as menteri besar.

Razaleigh was answering questions from the floor after delivering his keynote address at an event held at the Taiping New Club here over the weekend.

Better management needed

To the question of whether Malaysia would become bankrupt by the year 2019 as predicted by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Idris Jala, the former finance minister dismissed this.

“I don’t buy the theory that the country will go bankrupt (by 2019 ) as God has given us the wealth of natural resources like gas and palm oil,” he said.

He added that the high price of gas and palm oil would keep Malaysia afloat for years to come, but stressed that there was a need to change the bad management of the country’s natural resources and finances.

“Malaysia can enjoy a much better standard of living than Singapore, Hong Kong and Sweden if we manage our finances prudently,” he explained.

On the increasing cost of cars which was going beyond the means of most Malaysians, Razaleigh suggested that protection given to national car makers be removed.

“Free the car market of import duty so that prices of cars will come down and people will have a chance to buy the cars of their choice,” he said.

“We must abolish the AP (approved permit) system as only cronies enjoy the benefits at the expense of the country’s economy. All government tenders must be open so that the government can save costs,” he added.

Asked whether the political uprising in Middle East countries would influence Malaysians, Razaleigh said: “Yes! The influence will be felt especially among the younger generation who are more knowledgeable as the world has become a global village.”

Despite his stinging criticisms, the Umno veteran denied that he would consider switching political camps.

“Pakatan Rakyat is not even a registered political body but a loose coalition. The question of serving the people can be based from any party and not necessarily from Pakatan,” he responded to a question.

Humayun Kabir

"Pakatan Plus SAPP" will confiscate BN's 'fixed deposit' in Sabah in 13th GE

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will no longer be a Barisan Nasional (BN) ‘fixed deposit’ after the coming 13th General Election, said Datuk Yong Teck Lee, President of the opposition Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP).

He said such a notion is based on the growing resentment and dissatisfaction among the majority of the population over present government, especially citing the constant indiscriminate hike in prices of essential consumer items, besides many imbalances in policies affecting Sabah and Sarawak. This includes the fact that prices of goods and prices in Sabah are currently still much higher, as compared to Peninsular Malaysia.

“Prices of goods keep escalating over the years but the people’s salary in Sabah remains stagnant as compared to other states in the country. Unfortunately, the ruling Barisan Nasional leaders are busy engaging in the ‘cold war’ to protect their own selfish interest, rather than that of the people,” he lamented.

Speaking at the Parents’ Night organized by SAPP held at a leading Chinese seafood restaurant here on Saturday, Yong thus reiterated that SAPP is prepared to cooperate with the other opposition parties in Sabah to effectively break-up the BN hegemony in the state, in the next General Election.

“The strength of a coalition like “Pakatan Rakyat Plus SAPP” would not only be able to break-up BN’s hegemony in Sabah, but also to form a new government at both the Federal and the state level,” he proclaimed to a thunderous applauds from the audience.

The term “Pakatan Plus (SAPP)” was first introduced and proposed by DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang during a public forum organized by Sabah DAP in Kian Kok Middle School in late 2008.

Yong continued that the present trend shows that the lower and middle income people in Sabah are beginning to give their support to SAPP, as they truly felt the brunt of BN’s bad governance.

He noted that more and more people started to realize that the BN-led government has failed to make good use of the enormous profits earned from oil and gas export, especially amidst a rising global oil price, to keep the prices of goods down.

“Petronas recently announced a profit of close to RM100 billions where a dividend of RM30 billions was given to the Government, besides RM27 billions being the taxes,” he pointed out.

Meanwhile, the various oil-producing states namely Sabah, Sarawak, Terengganu and Kelantan only received a mere RM4 billions being the 5% oil royalty payment.

“The BN Government could have used the revenues received from Petronas to keep the prices of goods low, in Sabah especially, but it failed to do so,” Yong lamented.

He further lamented that the price of sugar too has been on the rise ever since Felda took over the sugar monopoly in the country from Tan Sri Robert Kuok’s Perlis Pelantations.

He was puzzled with the fact that sugar price was never increased during the era of Perlis Plantations but it has been increased several times since Felda took over the business.

“What’s even more puzzling and dismaying is the fact that Felda is a government agency that is supposed to look after the people’s interest and welfare, instead of focusing on making profit alone,” he contended.


Yong who is a former Chief Minister of Sabah thus reiterated that all the flaws in the present BN administration will be rectified, the moment the

“Pakatan Rakyat Plus SAPP” takes over the helm at both the Federal and the state level.

Earlier, Yong noted that the annual SAPP Parents Night was held in appreciation of the selfless contributions made by the parents, which is also in line with the party’s aspiration and commitment to promote the noble virtue of filial piety among the young generation.

He was also delighted to note that despite having assumed the role of an opposition now, the support given by its members and supporters to the party has not dwindled but increased, as reflected by the increase number of dinner tables for the said occasion, which has increased from 30 tables last year to 70 tables this year.

Among the dignitaries present in the occasion were Yong’s wife Datin Stella Yong, former State Finance Minister Datuk Datuk Mohd. Noor Mansur, SAPP deputy president Datuk Liew Teck Chan who is also the Likas State assemblyman, its Wanita Chief cum Luyang State assemblywoman Melanie Chia, its Advisors Datuk Murshidi Nambi, Datuk Francis Yap and Datuk Paul Wong.

Also in attendance were Sabah PKR delegation led by Datuk James Ghani and Roman Lo who represented PKR Kota Kinabalu division chief, Christina Liew who was away in overseas.

Yong presenting prizes to winners of the “Most Senior Persons” contest, during the function.

SAPP sudah ada momentum dari rakyat

Rudy Mairi

Oleh: Flavius Robert 

TENOM: SETIAP GERAK langkah bersilat siap diatur, tangan yang menghayun sambil menepis tak kurang hebatnya. Itulah gagahnya ibarat pahlawan gagah perkasa sudah siap segala galanya turun ke medan pertempuran…pantang berundur sebelum ajal!

Demikianlah pesanan yang agak bersemangat daripada Ketua Pergerakan Pemuda Parti Maju Sabah (SAPP) zon Pedalaman Rudy Sulaiman Mairi ketika ditemubual wartawan baru baru ini berhubung persiapan SAPP khususnya di CLC Tenom pada PRU13 yang akan diadakan dalam masa terdekat ini.



Wartawan: Dalam peringkat awal ini mungkin juga pemuda SAPP sudah lebih bersedia atau baru mula mengorak langkah dalam persediaan PRU13?

Rudy: Memang sebelum ini pun kita sudah bersedia dimana beberapa mesyuarat telah diadakan dizon pedalaman dan kini sudah berada diperingkat praktikal atau pelaksanaannya dimana kami mulakan tumpuan pula di Tenom termasuklah Kemabong.

Tetapi ambil maklum bahawa tindakan kami memang kurang disedari oleh mana mana pihak kerana kami bergerak secara senyap dan tidak mahu publisiti banyak. Lainlah kalau dipihak kerajaan dimana mereka mempunyai kekuatan lojistik dan kemampuan kewangan yang tinggi. Bagaimana pun, apa yang lebih penting ialah perancangan kami telah terlaksana dengan memuaskan serta menepati sasaran.

Wartawan: Apakah agaknya program pemuda SAPP yang telah dirancangkan dan adakah ianya menggunakan kos perbelanjaan yang besar?

Rudy: Kita tidak menggunakan kos yang banyak kerana kami laksanakan program ini secara ala kadar atas “kesedaran diri bahawa amalan berjimat cermat merupakan amalan mulia”. Diantara objektifnya ialah untuk melatihkan diri setiap pemuda supaya benar benar menjiwai konsep berjimat cermat dan kalau ditakdirkan SAPP memerintah kita tidak khuatir lagi bahawa amalan berjimat cermat sudah tertanam didalam diri kita. Mengenai program pemuda SAPP memang banyak yang bersangkutan dengan kerja kerja amal kebajikan, bergotong royong, ceramah membentuk moral dan intergriti yang mulia dan khemah kerja. Tujuan ini adalah untuk memupuk persefahaman yang lebih erat dikalangan pergerakan pemuda SAPP dimana program ini merupakan program “inklusif”.

Wartawan: Bahang PRU13 semakin dirasai dan semakin dekat agaknya, manakala UMNO-BN kini sudah rancak mengatur langkah agresif mereka yang seakan akan sukar untuk ditumbangkan oleh parti lawan. Apakah SAPP merasakan ada peluang bagi SAPP dan barisan pembangkang untuk menumbangkan UMNO-BN pada PRU13 ini?

Rudy: Seperti yang kita sedia maklum bahawa ketentuan segala galanya ada ditangan pengundi siapa yang menang dan siapa yang kalah nanti. Namun SAPP tidak akan bimbang atau pun gentar terhadap fenomena itu kerana kita sudah mendapat momentum daripada rakayat akar umbi bahawa mereka akan melakukan kejutan dalam PRU13. Kekuatan pemerintah sudah dijangka sejak awal awal lagi kerana mereka sudah tentu akan menggunakan sumber seberapa yang ada, namun wang bukan segala galanya dalam penentuan ini. Apa yang pasti ialah ketelusan, kejujuran dan matlamat perjuangan SAPP harus difahami terlebih dahulu oleh pengundi bermula dari sekarang.

Itu sebabnya kita buat kerja dikawasan akar umbi supaya kita mudah mendekati rakyat untuk menjelaskan kepada mereka apakah tujuan kita sebenar benarnya supaya mereka terus faham objektif SAPP.

Wartawan: Ada pendapat sesetengah pihak bahawa SAPP mungkin sukar diterima kerana parti ini kepunyaan masyarakat Cina?

Rudy: Ya…kalau dulu SAPP semasa dalam gagasan BN kita dalam SAPP fokus untuk memperjuangkan kebajikan masyarakat Cina tetapi sungguh pun begitu terdapat juga kesukuan masyarakat lain lain pada ketika itu seperti Melayu, KDM dan lain lain Selepas SAPP keluar daripada BN dan menjadi pembangkang, struktur kepimpinan SAPP sudah berubah selepas kongress SAPP pada baru lepas dimana Timbalan Presiden ada tiga dimana agehan komposisinya seperti Melayu, Cina dan KDM dan begitu juga jawatan lain diperingkat bawahannya.

Wartawan: Adakah usaha kepimpinan SAPP untuk meremajakan kepimpinannya kepada generasi muda, berwibawa dan berpendidikan supaya dapat menawan golongan muda menyokongnya?

Rudy: Sudah tentu itulah matlamatnya…kami diCLC Tenom sudah memulakannya tetapi orang ramai memang tidak sedar ini sebab kami tidak diberi kesempatan untuk mendapatkan hak publisiti yang meluas dan bebas dan tidak seperti UMNO-BN.

The Proliferation of Dubious Information

I guess that I was lucky in that when the Internet began to blossom, I was teaching at a university. Those born in the Internet Age won't understand this, but when one of my students described in a senior research paper in the late 1980s the possibilities of hyper-links, I was amazed. In 1994, my husband and I noted that when we searched the World Wide Web, we often found links that led to nowhere, to internet parking spaces for future development. By 1997, when I was teaching at a university in Georgia, those parking spaces had become shopping malls. I spent the summer finding information on the web that I could incorporate in my freshman English classes, as part of the university's mandate to help our students become Internet savvy. Every semester, I designed a workshop to demonstrate to my students the need to view their internet sources with a critical eye. We looked at websites that were parodies of official government web sites. We looked at websites with a political agenda; we looked at websites that seemed authoritative yet which provided no proof to support their authority. In educating my students, I was educating myself.

And so I look with a jaundiced eye at what I read online. When I write, I try to support any facts or figures or quotes with a trusted source. This morning, I experienced another lesson in the importance of this practice. I was looking for statements that politicians had said publicly about the unemployed. I remembered reading in the news some rather negative statements that Speaker of the House John Boehner had made about the unemployed in the government battle to extend or not to extend unemployment benefits during the worst economic slump since the 1930s. To find those quotes, I used Google's search engine, and I came across a blog with a very disturbing quote attributed to Boehner--but the language of the quote made me pause. Can this be for real? I wondered.

And so I "Googled" a selection from the quote, and lots of links to blogs appeared in which the quote was reproduced. The writer of one blog, however, did mention that the quote was from an interview Matt Taibbi, of Rolling Stone, did with John Boehner, but the author of the blog did not include a link to the interview. Now all the warning sirens were going off in my head. Blogs are often useful sources of information, but accurate blog writers are going to include references or links to news sources to back up their facts and figures.

Of course, some blog authors are journalists who do their own research and who interview their sources. And sometimes, news worthy information may be overlooked by national news outlets, for any number of reasons. And perhaps they've just buried the information in the inside pages. But this is my rule of thumb:

• If a search brings up a long list of blog sources, and particularly blog sources with a political bent or agenda, then, whether or not I agree with that political agenda, I look for additional information from news sources. (If the blogs provide links to such a source, then those blogs have made my search easier and have helped establish their own credibility.)

In this case, I went looking for the purported interview that Matt Taibbi did with John Boehner, and I came across Taibbi's own blog post about this purported interview: It never happened. In a blog post titled "I Did Not Interview John Boehner,", Taibbi writes:

There is a story flying around the internet that purports to contain an excerpt from an interview that I did with John Boehner. This interview is a hoax, and neither I nor Rolling Stone had anything to do with it. There are some seriously bored people out there... if people are going to make up a fantasy activity for me in the future, please, make it a foot massage from Jessica Gomes, not face time with John Boehner.

And, no, I won't reproduce the dubious quote here. But if you want to read what Matt Taibbi actually did write about John Boehner, you can read his article here: "The Crying Shame of John Boehner," in Rolling Stone, 5 January 2011.

It takes a lot of time to make sure that what one is reading can be trusted. Most people don't have that time. But, hey, I'm unemployed and over fifty. What better use can I find for my time? Now I'm going to go plant a garden.

Religious and Racial tensions the political trump card for Umno?

By Dullie Haji Marie

Another twist emerged by Utusan Malaysia, by sensationalizing on the issue that unsubstantiated with facts; the Christian leaders were conspiring to replace Islam as the official religion and install a Christian Prime Minister. It is incomprehensible when Islam is constitutionally the official religion of the nation.

Unfortunately, this deluge of lies was further dramatised by Datuk Ibrahim Ali, by waging a crusade against Christianity. The result of Sarawak election is sending a strong message to make UMNO in a panic mode. It will be the likely trend to continue in the coming GE 13. Just make a guess if this incident happens by coincident or is it crafted to destroy DAP directly and indirectly PKR and PAS by begging for the Malays to rally behind UMNO.



However, Malaysians in the West are so much immune on the issue of religion and race. They had been indoctrinated with the issue for almost half a century. The tactic is basically to garner the support from the Malays. Malaysians is now more civil and in general possess the highest level of tolerance and the maturity on the issue of religion and race.

This was well reflected on how they handled the incidents of cow head; the arson of churches over the use of Allah. They are very much aware that the instigation primarily as a political ploy to garner the support of the Malay in the name of Ketuanan Melayu. It is undeniable that the support of the Malays is so vital to keep UMNO in power.

It has been the norm whenever the election is around the corner the same issue is manifested. Usually the issue is non-issue but it was manufactured that the treat is seen to be real. The most flagrant example, on how the same issue, race and religion, was capitalized back in 1990. The incident when Tengku Razaleigh was seen as Christian just only by wearing a Kadazan’s headwear. Normally in Sabah such an act is considered merely as a sign of respect and gesture of friendship. But it was blown up out of proportion in Semananjung with the end result Semangat 46 was trashed. This incident should have been noted seriously by Sabahan and should treat it as a wake-up call on the danger of racial polarization.

Sabahan in generally is not too sensitive on the issue of religion and race. This was proven and reflected by the political history of Sabah. During the Sabah Alliance it was governed by three major parties representing the Bumiputras Muslim/non Muslim and the Chinese.

The tolerance and harmony prevailed until to the era of PBS rule. It was the moment when UMNO making its presence in Sabah politics. It was the beginning when Sabahan indoctrinated on the issue of race and religion. It is an effort to make a smooth way to the entrance of UMNO. Since then, UMNO capitalized on the issue, to divide and rule along the race and religious lines. That lethal strategy is so glaring through gerrymandering and invoking on strategy of giving My Cards to the foreigners.

In reality Sabahan do not subscribe to the ideology of Malay Supremacy as propagated by UMNO. However, most of Muslim Bumiputras are now considered themselves to be as Malay just because they are Muslims as stipulated by the Malaysian Constitution.

The indoctrination is beginning to bear fruit but in the end these Muslim Bumiputras no longer carry the stigma of their origins. This is of a great concern to the future of our generation.

In a long run the Muslim Bumiputras will be marginalized and outnumber with the emergence of new groups creeping into our society. The impact will be horrendous besides the lost of languages and cultures.

Generally, we don’t have the problem on the issue of religion and race. But because of UMNO in Sabahan are willingly sung along and embraced ourselves on the problem imported from Semananjung. But in reality we don’t have the problem here.

We in Sabah had been living in harmony and the issue of race and religion has never been our problem and it has never been our agenda towards the formation of Malaysia.

Sabah is truly a typical example of homogenous society that richly endowed with cultures and creeds and that diversification bonded our unity.

The reality in Sabah is very much mix, we are able to sit together in coffee shops and enjoyed our foods by respecting each other although of different ethnics and creeds.

In most instances, although we are of different religions but most of us are related either through our ancestors or through marriages.

Although we are of different backgrounds but we are related and usually we are often mingling with each and talk over on our problems.

Because we are related it has been the tradition to celebrate social and religious events together. In Sabah, it is very common to see some ethnics embraced different religions. Religion only as barrier to separate them but in reality they are related to each other.

Sabah perhaps is the highest number of mixed-marriages. This is the most unique and the beauty of our culture in Sabah. This precious culture was inherited from our ancestors and it is our duty to protect and preserve them from being destroyed in the name of religion.

Actually our aspiration joining Malaysia is very basic and clear that we want to be treated equally; that is when our rights and autonomy as promised should be respected; that we never dream when religion will be used as a barrier to divide us.

We should not be naive and must be awakened to the political realities. We have to be realistic on pertinent issues that confronting our daily life and on issues that will have tremendous impact to our generation.

The immediate issues that confront us now and that need to be addressed are the increase on the cost of living; rampant corruptions and abused of power; high unemployment and poverty rates and the impact on social problems by the PTI.

The issue is real; we must not derail ourselves from the real issues. The issue of religion is very much superficial and only subscribed by the old school of thought. We should not be trapped with the issue; because it is not real but merely as tool to perpetuate political agendas to hang on power.

This issue will soon be over taken by time, proven by what is happening in the Middle East. We should not subscribe to an outdated ideology that will bring us to the brink of destruction.

The world is borderless awaken ourselves and see on the reality happening around us. The nation and the people will suffer and there will be no gainer, even the perpetrators themselves will also suffer.

The dream to be a progress nation is only realized when the society live in harmony, peace and united. This only can be achieved not through feudalism but through democratic process.

This is the struggles that motivated SAPP for the better future of Sabah.

Dullie Hj.Marie,Vice President of SAPP

A Tale From Sarawak

Behind a thousand miles

Amde Sidik
I sense there aren't going to be a lot of changes in the way our political leaders are behaving, unless they undergo an overnight heart cleansing or brain surgery in which by the time the nomination day is announced they are not yet fully recovered.
I mean if they are really wanted to topple BN government. (I've written about this subject many times)

By the way let me share my raw analysis why BN won handsomely in the recent Sarawak State General Election.

With fierce new political campaign's culture of Malaysian politics now, brought over crossed South China Sea; character assassination, abusive words and racist remarks. Outrageously immoral and unIslamic twenty years ago, now pasted with stickers, Halal sign on it, who are we to say?

It started by Mahathir during his era and the trend is getting worse by day.

Handsomely I mean, PBB fielded 35 candidates all won, SUPP won 6, and PRS won 8 and SPDP won 6. BN therefore won 55 out of 71 state seats. Not bad.

The result was nonetheless impressive for a man hated most by State's urbanites which result can be translated that nearly all in urban areas cleaned swift by DAPP.

The biggest puzzle, despite hatred at Sarawak's Chief, this urban paranoia didn't spread out to rural.

While no doubt the Chinese voters were focused, believing what they believed in but the belief didn't extent to rural areas because roads to kampong are filthy and unhygienic?

Sarawak BN position was intact, fully supported by the bumi's category including the Dayak group

It can be translated this way, Chinese were very much looking at bigger picture of Malaysia. They wanted a change in Malaysia politic, they were thinking about the whole system.

Likewise the Bumi let the Chinese believe of their view. Fear of DAP is exaggerated because DAP power has a ceiling. There is no way DAP can form a government; let them win because they can work like dog.

The Bumi believe a complete democratising Malaysia isn't good for them. They fear if the Chinese have free hand everywhere they could be sold out. That fear isn't come so much from Sarawak Chinese, but DAP Chinese from Malaya having learnt DAP's history. (Watch DAP proposal for merger with SNAP)

With electrifying onslaught from opposition, another Malayan's opposition political party namely PKR, where many onlookers had the impression PKR could topple BN. Inspired by the fogy image, PKR leaders became bigheaded, refused to budge even an inch. Knowingly, very unnecessary to field up more than 20seats,let alone talking about all state seats, they offered SNAP only 3 seats? It must be with the idea to kill SNAP; the result backfired, like curiosity kills the cat. Wonder if they dare to try again in Sabah?

I was in the coastal areas of Sarawak-Limbang to Bintulu throughout the campaign period. Lot wanted to vote for SNAP but SNAP was not seen to make any headway, had no infrastructure readied, some candidates fielded were dead wood-kayu mati they called.

Sarawak Bumi discreetly talked about Sabah being colonised by UMNO. Sabah people can't do much, everything else is referred to KL, may be one day even to look for a wife need approval from Putrajaya.

They were incidents that Sabahans asked to go to Putrajaya to collect their uncollected mykads, isn't that not frightening George said.

Sarawak local wouldn't want this to happen in Sarawak. Those tried bringing UMNO to Sarawak were insane, Latiff said, an opposition supporter from Benkenu but would vote BN on the issue of local Sarawak interest.

Vote PKR Sarawak, this is exactly a copycat of Sabah has UMNO and Sarawak has PKR?

Their choice was no choice but come back to square one. No matter how bad Taib Mahmud is but people of Sarawak choose Taib Mahmud not by PM of Malaysia.

Sarawak BN didn't do the campaign as fierce as opposition did, what they had in many kampongs were karaoke singing and kenduris of course, pulus la!.

Which means, Sarawak is for Sarawakians.

"You're not politician but more of a writer, are you?" asked by an elderly person in Miri. My reply was yes and no

Amdee Sidik is a Citizen Journalist and Deputy President of SAPP

‘Malays don’t need Umno’

A former Umno state assemblyman cites two areas which received 'least attention' to explain why Chinese will not vote for Barisan Nasional

COMMENT by Mohd Ariff Sabri Aziz
Why would the Chinese give up their freedom to pursue their self-interest for ‘interferences’? The great advances achieved by the Chinese as a whole happened when there was least ‘interference’ from the government and its little and not so Little Napoleons.

Let me give you some examples. Every town and city in Malaysia displays the same characteristics. I am most familiar with my hometown, Kuantan and Kuala Lumpur. In Kuantan you have a section of town dominated by Chinese (Ayer Puteh) and in Kuala Lumpur you have (Old Klang Road).

In my schooldays, these two areas were and are still dominated by the Chinese.  Both these areas enjoyed least attention from the government in the past.

If you visit Ayer Puteh in Kuantan today, you will be almost convinced that it’s a city in itself. Ayer Puteh developed on its own, on account of the vibrancy of the people pursing their economic interests with the least interference and meddling from government. It has achieved this status with lesser interference from government.

In Kuala Lumpur, the Old Klang Road area has developed into a commercial behemoth that it’s almost fair to say, it has developed a parallel economy rivaling what the official government can do. And Old Klang Road has achieved that without the excessive interference of government.

In other words, it’s absolutely hogwash to say, we depend on the government for our livelihood.

Cocky Umno

Now lets look at the Malays. We have millions of Malays in rural areas who can do better if they have what? They can do better if they have capital, accessibility, education and technical skills. Now this is truth.

Malays need capital (capitalism), they need accessibility (freedom) they need education (self-interest). None of these are in any way synonymous with Umno.

Let me repeat this statement. The Malays need capital (yes), they need freedom (yes) and they need to pursue their self-interests?  Now tell me, if I were to purse this extreme logic, do the Malays need Umno?

They don’t because their advancement is not absolutely dependent on whether it’s Umno that provides capital, freedom and creates the environment that enable them each to purse their self-interests.

So when former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad says the Malays need help, where does it say in the world, that that HELP comes in the form of Umno?

So before Umno goes to the polls, I hope they get rid of this cockiness and self-conceit that the people need us. They don’t.

This is an excerpt of the writer’s article in his blog sakmongkolak47. The writer is an FMT columnist

The Malaysian Circus

Malaysia held ransom by a small bunch of rascals 

First they say that the Chinese are going to take over Malaysia. Now they say that the Christians are going to take over Malaysia. Later, they may say it will be Chinese Christians who will take over Malaysia. When are they going to make up their minds?

Then they went on to mock the Royalty, by conveniently inserting the word ‘Agong’, saying that the Agong’s consent is needed to allow the Christians to install a Christian Prime Minister. Really, that has got to be biggest joke of the 21st century. And to think that a respectable newspaper like Utusan couldn’t see through the charade and though it worthy to carry the story in its headline news is simply amazing.


Now, they say that Muslims, who constitute 60 per cent of the country’s population, are frightened of the Christians, who account for only 10 per cent of the population. The weak Muslims in the country are being threatened and may lose their right to worship, as one prominent blogger ‘Wakakaka’ would say.

Worse still, they even felt the need to have to have a Chinese Muslim make the call and add credence to their statements.

Yes, Islam is under siege. Extremism is rearing its head again, and is now trying to speak on behalf of all the Muslims in this country. They really have no qualms about belittling the Muslims that they purport to represent in the eyes of the non-Muslims. Without valid and concrete proof, they go on to accuse other Faiths of undermining the sanctity of Islam.

Glazed and dazed

If you ask Najib, what is happening, he will just look on with starry, glazed eyes and shrug his shoulders,

Now that the racial card has simmered, the religious card is being played to the hilt Using religion to fan the fires of destruction is really debasing. How did the country ever managed to stoop so low?

Who says there are racial conflicts in this country? Malaysia is the most peaceful country in the world. Malaysia’s ability to preserve its peace and multiculturalism all this while is a wonder by itself. The world look on us in disbelief, that Malaysia can hold on to each other for so long, despite all the past tries to destabilize this nation.

Malaysians, please ask yourself, honestly. “Was there any time in your life where you actually felt physically threatened by the other races?” Malaysia is so peaceful, that you can actually hear a pin drop. You can go to the most rural village and walk the darkest street and you would not feel the least uneasy.

There is a very small group of people up there who are actually pulling all the strings. They play a card game akin to Tarot Cards. Used by Fortune Tellers, each card in the deck are strategies to control our thought processes.

Instead of working, they are sitting there playing with the sentiments of the people. And they have been doing that for 50 years. They know the Rakyat has caught on to their game. They know that we know. But they still go on playing this game, changing the stakes here and there. And yes, they are willing to sell us out in their bid to retain power.

They use every card available in the deck to achieve their aim to hunker us down, tame us and reduce our spirit to fight back.  They have been wearing us down spiritually, mentally, emotionally and even physically so that we will beg and crawl for mercy.

They have nearly succeeded in disciplining a particular race as a safe deposit, and they are now trying to wear the others down using the same tactic.

Let's take them on

Thank goodness, they are not very smart although not stupid either.

For them it is a passion to wallow in the threshold of power, fame and fortune. Drunk from all this power, they cannot pull themselves away and constantly feel threatened that they are about to lose their the gold mines. That's why they are now drawing out every available card  in the deck as fast as they can dish out to try and neutralize the gains by the Opposition.

From buying over frogs to black mail, death threats to religious sensitivities, racial rights to Royal Rights, they have gone on a relentless campaign to ensure that we will not be able to penetrate their defences nor successfully unite to threaten them.

Ironically, we were the same people that voted them in, in the first place. But getting rid of them happens to be a formidable task. This small bunch of rascals will continue to stir up all kinds of trouble, just so that they can control the status quo.

They buy over gangsters who will roam the streets, sparking unrest, hold demonstrations, break the peace, threaten public safety and start street riots all in the name of religion and race. Their objective is to spark of racial conflicts that will trigger a state of emergency just to keep this small group of people in power.

Through the smoke screen, Malaysians are fed daily doses of anti-nationalistic propaganda, racial deterioration, nasty religious insensitivities, and the need to stay apart to protect our own communities. These are the same people who are ever ready to sell us out as prostitutes and beggars to the highest bidder, and who won’t blink an eye to hijack religion and to empty every single cent in our nation’s coffers.

Dr M thinks that the General Election should be postponed to 2012.That won't be bad idea, as it will give us more time to reassemble and get ready to take them on. Although, it will also give them more time to spin more devilish plots.

But never mind, let's take them on once and for all. Malaysians, fight back and reclaim our sanity and lives!  


Written by  Iskandar Dzulkarnain, Malaysia Chronicle 

PKR is selfish

PKR criticized for being selfish

KOTA KINABALU: A veteran political activist has taken Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to task for keep on harping on her party's stand that there should be only a one-to-one fight with the ruling Barisan Nasional in Sabah in the coming general election.

Fredoline Edwin Lojinki, who served in the now-defunct UNKO in the 1960s, said that PKR was too preoccupied with this one-to-one fight for its own selfishness of only wanting to enhance its chance to be in Putrajaya, and for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to be the Prime Minister.


"They do not know that by insisting on this formulae, they are usurping the rights of political parties and individuals in Sabah and Sarawak to contest in an election which should be respected by PKR and all," he said in a statement Yesterday.

Fredolone added the call for one-to-one fight with BN of course would enhance the possibility of BN losing since it has been in power for a very long 50 year time and given its current deteriorating clout among voters.

But PKR should also learn to approach this issue by way of respecting the views of sabah and Sarawak and the two states' inherent special autonomy rights within Malaysia.

PKR has tested it in Sarawak where they failed miserably by winning only in three seats out of as much as 50 they contested in the recently-concluded state election. Even the trio won because of their own personal strength rather than PKR clout, if any, in the state.

Actually, he said. PKR can help achieve the one-to-one fight with BN by containing itself to the 11 states in the Peninsular, and help the state based parties in East Malaysia as their allies.

"Aren't 11 states enough for PKR and Wan Azizah and Anwar. Your arrogant approach by merely 'offering' only three out of 71 seats to SNAP in the sarawak recently speaks volume of your similarity with the people's so-called common enemy, the arrogant Umno.

"If PKR is sincere, PKR and its allies DAP and PAS should stay away from Sabah and Sarawak and let our people have the peace of mind to elect from among our state-based parties who should represent us in Parliament and State Assembly.

"We can always be your partner at the Federal level. Why must a Peninsular party be always wanting to be controlling East Malaysia? This isn't the prayer of our forefathers when they agreed to form Malaysia with Malaya and Singapore back in 1963.

"In Sabah, we already see PKR-DAP-PAS' ill intention to field candidates in all the 60 state constituencies and all 25 parliamentary seats. Most likely PKR will 'offer' SAPP one or  two seats as enticement to partner with them," he said.

Fredoline added it is like SAPP going for all seats in Peninsular states and trying to offer PKR to contest in only two to three places.

"Is this acceptable to PKR? I think they would brush this aside as nonsense and illogical. But what about you doing this to Sabah and Sarawak parties and leaders.

"If you can hegemonise us now while you are still not a Federal Government, what more if you already occupy Putrajaya? You cannot be more arrogant than Umno, can you Wan Azizah?

"But having said that, since it is now a two party system, a sitting government will surely lose power if they don't listen to the people and offer them what they wanted.”

Source: The Borneo Post

UMNO's 'convenient' scapegoat ahead of elections?

Archbishop slams 'irresponsible, baseless, provocative' reporting

Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur, Murphy Nicholas Pakiam, has slammed reports alleging a conspiracy to turn the country into a Christian state.

Describing the reports as “irresponsible, baseless and provocative”, Pakiam demanded that the authorities take action against what it said were quarters that seek to threaten the harmonious, multi-cultural and multi-religious make-up of the country.

A “thorough investigation” into the matter should be made to determine the source of these “insidious, provocative and malicious lies” and take action against those behind it, said Pakiam in a statement.


He was responding to the blog postings, on which an Utusan Malaysia report was based, accusing DAP of colluding with Christian pastors to make Christianity the country's official religion so that a Christian can become prime minister.

'We've never been treasonous, hateful' 

Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi was named in the blog postings as the DAP leader who attended the meeting and joined the prayer session with the pastors, who were reportedly attending a mega-ceramah at the Catholic Christian Centre in Penang on Saturday.

“On behalf of the Catholic Bishops of Malaysia, I would like to categorically refute the allegation that such a meeting had taken place or will take place in a Catholic venue in Penang,

“It is clear that this reporting is baseless and highly irresponsible as the reporters and editors of the above newspaper have not taken any reasonable steps whatsoever to verify the allegations made by anonymous bloggers.

“Furthermore, this report comes after the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship (NECF), one of the organizers of the above meeting, having refuted the claims of those bloggers and the same was carried on online media.

“The NECF has further clarified that this meeting only covered the topic of ethical leadership and had no treasonous agenda as alleged by the bloggers and news report,” said Pakiam.

Pakiam said Christian authorities teach the community to be God-fearing and law-abiding citizens and conscientious decision-makers “based on justice which is reflective of moral and divine laws.”

Even in the Al-Kitab issue over which the Christian Federation of Malaysia has been in dispute with the government, Church leaders had always reiterated their commitment and readiness “to dialogue and work together with the government” and all parties for a just and reasonable solution.

“It is clear that our position has never been treasonous nor have we advocated hatred, antagonism or animosity towards any religion or groups of persons,” said Pakiam.

“I continue to call upon all Catholics, Christians and all Malaysians to pray, dialogue and work together to strengthen national unity and harmony. May God bless our leaders with a firm vision and the courage and strength to uphold and realise it.”

'Utusan playing with fire' 

Lending his voice in support of Pakiam's remarks, PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan (right) also described the blog and Utusan reports over the alleged conspiracy as “irresponsible” and potentially destabilising.

“Other than potentially threatening the peace, such speculations are seen as a means of seeking cheap political publicity and (part of) continuous efforts to hide weaknesses and failure in protecting the sanctity of the (Islamic) religion,” said Nasrudin in a statement entitled 'Utusan playing with fire'.

Nasrudin said it is a well-known fact that Islam is enshrined as the official religion of the federation, with Muslims making up the majority in Malaysia's pluralistic population.

“For these reasons, Islam should not be in a position of being jeopardised and the Muslims would not allow Islam to be threatened,” he added.

If Islam is indeed perceived as getting weaker, said Nasruin, it was because of Umno's failure to fulfil the mandate with which it had been entrusted to govern the nation, particularly in protecting religious practices and the people's welfare.

“If Umno had taken care of (the practice of) Islam well and strengthened it, I believe and am convinced that such speculations (by Utusan) of moves to make Christianity the official religion of the nation would not have arisen.

“At the same time, Muslims would feel at peace and comfortable with practising their religion,” he added.

Source: Malaysiakini